New Delhi: Appalled by the dreadful incident in Himachal Pradesh, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju will visit Manali on Monday to oversee the rescue and relief operation for the victims of dam tragedy and their family members.

The operation is being undertaken in coordination with the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

In order to bring the situation under control, steps are being taken to facilitate airlifting of parents of the victims to Kullu Manali. Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the state government on the incident.

The bodies of five of the 24 students, who drowned in the river Beas at Mandi on Sunday evening, have been recovered by the rescue teams. They were part of the group of students from Hyderabad based VNR Vigyan Jyoti Institute of Engineering and Technology.

The students were on an excursion trip. The trip turned tragic when the students, including some girls who were taking photographs at the bank of the river, were swept away by gushing waters of Beas as discharge of water suddenly increased following its release from the reservoir of 126MW Larji hydropower project.

A control room with phone number: 01905-223374 has been set up at Mandi for any information.